Threadbare
by BrenRenQoI
Summary: Just another Missing Scene Fic... Season Eight Episode Threads...
1. Chapter 1

Threadbare

by Bren Ren

Rating: PG

SPOILERS: Season Eight, Spoiler-based for the ep, Threads

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making anything more than the delighted smiles of my readers!

Summary:Ironically enough, this was written prior to the much-anticipate episode, before we knew the fate of Jacob Carter. And this is a scene we'llnever see at the end of Threads. Buthope springs eternal... There's always flashbacks!

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Threadbare

by Bren Ren

She sat in the dark briefing room for a long time, collecting her thoughts, trying to get a solid grip on her emotions. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, it could have been for hours now. Her mind was in turmoil, her thoughts racing on too many tracks at once. Over and over, she's been telling herself, "If you can just get through the next few days... it will get better..."

_This too shall pass. _

Sam gasped. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she heard her mother's voice. Clear as a bell, soft and warm, ringing in her ears. Samantha closed her eyes, inhaling slowly and deeply. A small calm began to fill her, but it was gone the moment she opened here eyes once again.

She watched the frenzy of activity below with blank eyes, not really seeing what was happening until General O'Neill entered the room. Her heart knew it before her brain had fully registered his presence. It skipped a beat, then another, then started racing, pumping her blood through her body fast and hot. She watched him, not daring to blink, nearly holding her breath, as the Gate engaged and one of the SG teams ran through. She watched O'Neill speak with a technician, then finally leave the room right after the Gate was deactivated. He would be returning to his office now. It was time.

She turned away from the window, walked around the long table and left the room. She walked through the narrow corridors with even, measured steps. She acknowledged all the countless well wishes and condolences absently, her mind already reaching the destination her body was traveling towards. There were too many things she wanted to say, but none of them fit quite right. When it came to scientific techno babble, she could prattle on for hours. When it came to matters of the heart, her tongue twisted into knots, the butterflies waging war inside her stomach made it hard to choke back the flood of emotions threatening to wash her away.

She reached the base commander's office and tried to swallow her heart back down into her ribcage. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After an interminable pause, she heard a grumbled "Come in!" from inside. She opened it slowly, hesitating when she saw him sitting behind his desk.

"Carter? Can I help you?"

As soon as he looked up and saw her, he dropped his pen down on the six-inch stack of paperwork in front of him. She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her. She was certain she looked terrible, her eyes still puffy and swollen from crying, her complexion unusually pale, dark circles under her eyes. What she didn't know, couldn't know, was how achingly beautiful she appeared to him now.

Instead of taking a seat, as he indicated, she turned to look at the photographs and honorariums hanging on the walls. She walked the small perimeter of the room, finally pausing to touch one picture of an early American space capsule.

"Hard to believe we've come so far in so little time..." Her voice was a soft murmur.

Jack had watched her silently, giving her the time she needed to voice her thoughts. To say the last few days were sheer hell would be a gross understatement. There was a small, private place in his heart that was bleeding for her. When she finally turned to face him, the hardness he saw in her eyes caught him completely off guard.

"I just wanted to let you know, I'll be leaving for San Diego in the morning, 06:00. Thank you again for letting me be the one to tell him. I know it's not exactly... standard protocol, but... I really need to be the one to tell him."

"It was no problem. A nightmare in the paperwork department, but no problem." He paused, needing to say something more, but cautious and wary of her. "If there's anything you need... anything I can do..."

Her eyes softened suddenly. "You have no idea how much that means to me." She looked down, unable to speak for a moment. When she lifted her eyes again, she bared her soul to him for just a moment, and as always, she stole his breath away. Her next words were very soft, very slow, and very deliberate.

"I gave him back his ring." She paused to let the words ring in the air between them. "It never fit right. I thought you should know." The gauntlet had been thrown down. She turned and walked around his desk, got all the way to the door and had her hand on the knob before he spoke.

"Sam." She stopped. Turned around, eyes closed. Very slowly, she opened them to meet his gaze. "When you get back... give me a call."

For a split second, she thought she caught a glimpse of his heart and soul. She braved a small smile, a slight nod, then she turned around, opened the door, and walked away. She left the door wide open; she left Jack with a smile that was full of hope.

The end...?

Love and hot fudge,

Bren Ren


	2. Chapter 2

{Author's Note: This isn't new… I wrote it ages ago, but for whatever reason, it never got added to the archive here… so here it is. Enjoy!}

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Part Two

Sam was scarcely in the door before she picked up the phone and dialed, before she had a chance to talk herself out of it. It had taken the entire ride back from San Diego to talk herself into it.

"O'Neill," he answered.

Sam sucked in a lunge full of air before greeting him. "Hello, sir."

"Carter, back already?" his voice was tinged with surprise.

"Yes… I caught an earlier flight. Mark took the news surprisingly well." She paused to collect her courage. "Sir, I'd like to talk with you in person…It's, um… personal." She blushed at how foolish she must have sounded. She swallowed back down a fleeting bubble of panic. "If you can spare some time…"

"Of course. Any time," he answered.

"Now?"

"Where?"

"Could you come by here?"

"Give me half an hour."

"You've got it. I'll see you in a bit." She hung up the phone, a bit discourteously she knew, but she couldn't help herself. Her nerves were on edge, every muscle in her tensed to spring into action. She sighed out loud, a long hard sigh.

This shouldn't be so hard, she told herself. After all, they had reached an understanding, she thought. Then again, she had thought there was an understanding between them four years before, and she ended up convincing herself instead that it was all in her head. It was time to get it out of her head and out in the open once and for all. What better time than now? The worst is over. The bad guys are down for the count; it's time to celebrate our victory.

She decided to change from her flight attire into a soft sweater and a faded, comfortable pair of jeans. She donned rare dabs of makeup and a quick brush of her short hair before deciding she was as ready as she'd ever be. She sat down on her couch and waited, her mind a million miles away at a million miles a minute.

She was ready for this, she decided. It was long past time she righted a very big wrong in her life. Too long had she denied herself the full force of her feelings for the man she was about to face. It wasn't fair to anyone anymore, and it was time to fix that, to make things right, to be fair to herself, and more importantly, to him.

And the feelings she discovered as she let thems unfold within her heart, those were stronger and deeper than her feelings for any other single sentient being. Love was too small a word to encompass all that she felt for this amazing, wonderful, strong, caring, honorable man. How could she not love him, when he already commanded her respect, her trust, her faith, her hope? After the long, long time they've spent in one another's company, how could she possibly be expected to not love him?

He said he would always be there for her. She needed that, needed him to be there by her side, always, and she was finally strong enough to accept it. It wasn't a question of "if" anymore. It was a matter of "when", and she couldn't stand the idea of wasting any more time after they'd already waited for so many long, long years. The time was now.

Right on cue, Jack knocked.

Her heart pounded, once, twice, three times, before settling into a slightly more rapid than normal pace. She stood on legs that weren't at all trembling, and walked to the door. She opened it and let her eyes feast on him for the very first time. He looked incredible. She smiled, a warm eye melting smile, and moved to let him in.

"Hello, sir." She lead him into her living room. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Couldn't wait to see me?" he asked with a slight, mischievous little grin.

She blinked, her smile faltering for just a second. "No, I couldn't," she answered honestly, surprising herself a bit.

It was Jack's turn to blink somewhat stupidly. "Well, here I am."

"Yes, you are." She sat down on the couch and waited for him to follow. He sat close, but not too close. Not yet, she thought with a delicious little smile. "I've tried to do this… I don't know how many times. I lost count over the years." She paused and pulled her legs up under her, shifting her hips slightly towards him in an effort to get comfortable. "And somewhere down the road, I lost hope. I lost faith in us. I gave up on that dream. But even then, I couldn't quite shake it. I couldn't forget it the way I thought I could. I tried, God knows, I tried, but… That dream stayed alive, somewhere deep inside me." She shook her head, finally looking away from Jack. "I have my Dad to thank for opening my eyes. I was settling, for something I could have… because what I really wanted was… unattainable… At least, that's what I had convinced myself." She closed her eyes for a moment before bringing them back up to look straight into his eyes. "But it isn't… it never was unattainable. It was right there all along. It was… unconventional, but it was there. It was real. Is real."

"I think I'm following you," Jack replied. "So what exactly is it that you want?" he asked carefully.

She smiled, shaking her head with a slightly incredulous smile. "I want you," she said simply. Jack said nothing, just stared at her long and hard. Sam reached out her hand to touch his face, bringing it dangerously close to her own. "I've always wanted you," she said softly just before their lips finally connected.

There was nothing tentative in the kiss, nothing shy or hesitant in the slightest. It was open and deep, loving and needy, hot and indeed a bit steamy. Sam leisurely explored Jack's mouth with her lips and tongue, delighting in his enthusiastic response. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body into his, pressing him back into the sofa. They finally broke away breathless. She leaned her forehead against his as she worked to slow her breathing.

"Wow!" She smiled into his eyes.

"I'll second that," he replied softly, his voice just a tad husky.

"So we're in agreement."

"Dear God, yes!" he said, his voice still hushed.


End file.
